My marathons

Seattle Marathon

07:007:00 AM 5th Avenue and Harrison Street, Seattle Center
Space Needle
Space Needle. Photograph by Guywelch2000, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The marathon starts at 5th Avenue and Harrison Street at Seattle Center and finishes at Pier 66 on the downtown waterfront.

The course in short 3 lines
  • From Seattle Center to the waterfrontSeattle Center to Pier 66: a point to point finish on the waterfront.
  • Where the course meets the citySpectator points from the Arboretum to the Olympic Sculpture Park.
  • Pacers from 3:00 to 6:00Fifteen pacer times, 3:00 to 6:00; the race is a Boston qualifier.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2FinishFrom Seattle Center to the waterfrontSeattle Center to Pier 66: a point to point finish on the waterfront.

The marathon starts at 5th Avenue and Harrison Street at Seattle Center; for 2026 the gun was set for 7:00 on Sunday 29 November. It finishes at Pier 66 on the downtown waterfront, the same start and finish as in 2025.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2CrowdWhere the course meets the citySpectator points from the Arboretum to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Spectators are pointed to the start line at 5th and Harrison, the Arboretum, Drumheller Fountain on the University of Washington campus, Gasworks Park, Etruria Street and 3rd Avenue North just south and west of the Fremont Bridge, Olympic Sculpture Park and the finish at Pier 66. The half marathon shares the start, the Etruria Street corner, the sculpture park and the finish, and adds Goose Beach across from Lake Union Park.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2TacticsPacers from 3:00 to 6:00Fifteen pacer times, 3:00 to 6:00; the race is a Boston qualifier.

Pacers are provided for marathon finish times of 3:00, 3:05, 3:10, 3:20, 3:25, 3:30, 3:35, 3:40, 3:50, 3:55, 4:05, 4:20, 5:00, 5:30 and 6:00. The race is a Boston Marathon qualifier, and the finisher list goes to the Boston Athletic Association after the race. Timing is by net time from the chip in the bib.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2TacticsRoads reopen at 14:30Roads reopen 7.5 hours after the gun; aid thins out from then.

The course is open to vehicles again at 2:30pm. A runner still out there can finish by obeying normal pedestrian traffic rules, with fewer aid stations, marshals and police support. Finish line staff stay until the last athlete is in.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Seattle, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Order by 8 November to test them on two long runs first.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
first held
1970

Point to point from Seattle Center, beside the Space Needle, to Pier 66 on the downtown waterfront, with the gun at 7:00 on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Race week

Expo and bib pickup at Race hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue

Timetable

Friday 27 November Bib pickup

  1. 11:0011:00 AM–20:008:00 PM

    Expo and bib pickup Race hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue. No race-day pickup for the marathon or half marathon. Someone else may collect a packet with proof of the runner's registration.

Saturday 28 November Last bib day

  1. 09:009:00 AM

    Kids Marathon start Bell Harbor, Pier 66. Kids Marathon registration is open 07:00 to 08:45 at Pier 66.

  2. 11:0011:00 AM–18:006:00 PM

    Health & Fitness Expo open Race hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue

  3. 11:0011:00 AM–20:008:00 PM

    Registration, bib and shirt pickup Race hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue

Sunday 29 November Race day

  1. 07:007:00 AM

    Marathon start 5th Avenue and Harrison Street, Seattle Center
Other races (2)

  1. 08:308:30 AM

    Half marathon start 5th Avenue and Harrison Street, Seattle Center

  2. 14:302:30 PM

    Marathon and half marathon routes open to traffic A runner still on the course after this keeps to normal pedestrian rules, with fewer aid stations, marshals and police. Finish line staff stay until every athlete is in.

Times as published by Seattle Marathon Association, in Seattle time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Seattle time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

Seattle Marathon Association, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Make your postcard

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Questions about the Seattle Marathon

When is the Seattle Marathon 2026?

Sunday 29 November 2026. The start is at 7:00 AM.

Where does the Seattle Marathon start?

Start: 5th Avenue and Harrison Street, Seattle Center.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

No course line is published for this race yet.

Date and entry information from Seattle Marathon Association.

Every source and licence behind them →

More races in the United States and in November